Abandonware DOS title

Text-based games: ASCII, etc. sorted by year, newest first

In the past, lots of games used ASCII characters (text) to represent the game world. These text-only video games may seem primitive and outdated and, in fact, the genre almost died with the fast evolving graphics of modern games.
A few genres traditionally linked to the beautiful world of ascii characters still survives: roguelikes (nethack, angband, etc.) and interactive fiction, for example.
lancelot-01

Lancelot

DOS19884.1/5 Level 9 Computing
lha-1

LHA

DOS19884.2/5
omega-rpg-01

Omega

DOSLinux1988freeware3.8/5
psycho-02

Psycho

DOS19883.4/5 Starsoft Development
returntodoom-1

Return to Doom

DOS19883.8/5 Topologika Software
romanticdome-1

Romantic encounters at the dome

DOS19883.9/5 MicroIllusions
startrek1stcontact-1

Star Trek: First Contact

DOS19883.6/5 Simon & Schuster Interactive
pasrun_001

The Astronomy Quiz

DOS19883.2/5 Softdisk Publishing
the-president-is-missing-02

The President is Missing

DOS1988protected3.4/5 Cosmi Corporation
shadowsmordor-3

The Shadows of Mordor

DOS19883.7/5 Beam Software
time-and-magik-03

Time and Magik: The Trilogy

DOS19884.1/5 Level 9 Computing
acheton-01

Acheton

DOS19873.7/5
anacreon-1

Anacreon: Reconstruction 4021

DOS1987freeware3.9/5 Thinking Machine Associates
Anacreon: Reconstruction 4021 is one of the first 4x turn-based strategy games, ASCII based. Anacreon is set in space, as most 4x sci-fi games are, and was published by Thinking Machines Associates and designed by George Moromisato who later re-released the game as freeware.
border-zone-01

Border Zone

DOS19873.8/5 Infocom
borland-eureka-1-04

Borland Eureka: the Solver

DOS19873.9/5 Borland Software Corporation
Borland Eureka: the Solver is an abandoned text-based application developed by Borland Software Corporation and released in 1987 for DOS. The product is designed to solve complex problems, generate tables and plots, and perform what-if analysis. The user writes an equation, sets options, and instructs the software to solve the problem. The pro...
borland-turbo-basic-1-03

Borland Turbo Basic 1.0

DOS19874.1/5 Borland Software Corporation
Borland Turbo Basic was a programming language developed by Borland, a software company that was prominent in the 1980s and 1990s. Turbo Basic was part of the Turbo series of programming languages and development tools that Borland created during that time.Turbo Basic was designed as a fast and efficient version of the BASIC programming language. B...
borland-c1-03

Borland Turbo C v1

DOS19874.2/5 Borland Software Corporation
bureaucracy-02

Bureaucracy

DOSMac19873.9/5 Infocom
Bureaucracy is an abandoned text-adventure game designed by Douglas Adams (yes, the writer of The Hitchhiker Guide of the Galaxy), developed and published by Infocom in 1987. Bureaucracy is a peculiar interactive fiction; the game challenges you to solve frustrating bureaucratic problems in a world populated by strange characters.
business-simulator-03

Business Simulator

DOS19873.9/5 Reality Development
Business Simulator is an abandoned business simulation game developed and released by Reality Development in 1987 for DOS only. Business Simulator is a text-based management simulation designed by an university professor.
dragonriderspern-1

Dragonriders of Pern

DOS19873.1/5 Everlasting
empire1-1

Empire: Wargame of the Century

DOS19874/5 Northwest Software
inside-trader-04

Inside Trader

DOS19874.1/5 Cosmi Corporation
hamil-01

Kingdom of Hamil

DOS19873/5 Topologika Software
lawnmover-1

Lawn Mower

DOS19873.8/5
mission-mainframe-04

Mission: Mainframe

DOS19873.9/5
nethack-2

NetHack

DOSWindows XP/98/95MacLinux1987freeware3.7/5
NetHack is an open-source roguelike game that's been around since the early 1980s. It's a single-player dungeon exploration game where you navigate your character through a randomly generated dungeon filled with monsters, traps, treasures, and various items. The goal is to retrieve the Amulet of Yendor, located deep within the dungeon's lowest leve...